The Politics of GOP Tyranny – On the Brink of Economic Armageddon

Most people are probably confused about all this debt ceiling stuff. Understandable, but people need to know what it all means.

Let’s clarify one thing. If the debt ceiling is not raised it will seriously impact you, me, your family members, the cashier at your supermarket, your neighbors, your kids teachers, co-workers if you’re lucky to have a job, the food server at your favorite restaurant, the obnoxious telemarketer you constantly hang up on, everyone. Even the billionaires and corporate Wall Street hacks will be impacted, but of course they’ll find some way to get tax breaks and bailouts to offset any loses.

Among other things interest rates would soar, meaning credit card charges would rise sharply for any unpaid balances, mortgage rates would jump sharply, depressing housing prices even more, the U.S. dollar’s value would drop which would hike the price of gasoline and other imported goods, imported goods being most of what we use, and our savings would lose their value.

Plus, Social Security, SSI, Veteran benefits checks may not be mailed out, and Medicare and Medicaid payments may not be paid.

We are facing a situation where people, in the form of GOP and Tea Party representatives, individuals who should not be trusted to be school crossing guards in a Mid-West town with a population of 13, much less Members of Congress, are in control of determining the future well-being of the United States of America.

If the debt ceiling is not increased by next week the US will default for the first time in the history of our country and we will not be able to pay our bills. The US will owe about $307 billion during the rest of August, but is expecting to take in about $172 billion in revenues, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Thus, 70 million checks the federal government routinely mails out every month will not go out.

The outrage here is that this is a totally manufactured, self-inflicted crisis created by these GOP/Tea Party lunatics.

This crisis should not be happening. The raising of the debt limit has always been a routine, matter of fact process. President Reagan did it 18 times. George W. Bush did it seven times. Both House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Kantor voted to raise the debt limit in the past without a murmur.

Also, why is raising the debt ceiling being linked to developing a grandiose budget deficit cutting plan? And, why has President Obama been suckered into this approach? The debt ceiling is about past budget decisions and bills the government owes now based on those past decisions. The budget and deficit cutting issues are about future spending. They have never been linked and should not be linked now. Congress should just vote on a clean bill to simply raise the debt limit and have the budget debates later.

The real issue Congress should be debating is how more jobs are going to be created. The big concern is that if either the Democratic or Republican budget cut plans is adopted, the ability for government to create needed jobs will diminish because government hands will be tied. Instead of less spending, we need more spending to stimulate the economy and, thus, create more jobs. At the recent US Conference of Mayors news conference that Coalition for Economic Survival members participated in, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said it best. Mayor Nutter stated that people who come up to him don’t ever say, “Mayor you have to do something about this deficit. They say what are you going to do about creating more jobs.”

In reality, the damage that the GOP and Tea Party crazies are about to inflict on the U.S., the amount of people they will hurt, the number of lives that will be destroyed by their actions, will far exceed anything that Al Qaeda or the Taliban could ever do to us.

These GOP/Tea Party people are nothing but economic terrorists. And, while the Tea Party likes to see themselves as patriots in the tradition of the American Revolution, in reality they are really traitors out to destroy this nation.

The people of Wisconsin should serve as a model for an eventual response to this madness. After their Tea Party Governor Scott Walker and his Republican controlled state legislature declared war on working people’s rights and labor unions in their state by stripping away the right of collective bargaining, there was massive demonstrations and a take-over of the state capitol.

These actions laid the ground-work for a political response. Recall elections were triggered against six Republicans State Senators eligible for recall. The election results this summer will determine who controls the Wisconsin state Senate heading into 2012. With recent polls indicating victory, a majority status would allow Democrats to stymie Walker’s agenda going forward and reverse the laws attacking workers’ rights.

Just like in Wisconsin, the GOP/Tea Party majority control of the House of Representatives must be wrestled back by the Democrats. Hopefully, if this should happen, having experienced the last year of a House controlled by the GOP and Tea Party, the Democrats will be more aggressive in pushing a more progressive agenda and not squander the full potential that could achieved as they did recently. If this should not happen, then the continued politics of GOP tyranny will mean more hardship and despair for poor, middle class and working people of this country. It is up to us to make sure this is not the case.

Your Tea Bag ranting and raving does not change reality as sane and rational people define it. The Lunatic Right is holding Americans hostage in this crisis. You may go back now to communicating with outer space or crazy Michele B., or wherever it is you get your
insane notions. Keep on being smug and rude — that’s all you Tea Bags seem to know how to do.

Nothing to prove. It’s my opinion. Plus, why don’t you have the conviction to stand behind your opinion by letting opposing comments on your blog? I see you haven’t allowed my comments to be posted there. What are you afraid of?

mcovile, my position is pretty clear. It’s outlined in my blog post. So, obviously it’s not as you say, ‘because I said so.’ We are in this situation because of the incompetency of George W. Bush. He and his cronies gave this country away to the corporations and rich, and practically bankrupted this country on a needless, illegal war in Iraq and with tax giveaways to the super rich. We are paying the price for that now. Obama was left with this crap he’s trying to clean up. Now, on top of that, you have ignorant Tea Party people in Congress who don’t have the intelligence or ability to be there, playing political obstructionist games attempting to bring down Obama and, as a result, bring down this country and the majority of people as well. The positions you say you support only add to this problem.

It shows how the actions of the Clinton administration and the Federal reserve is at the heart of the crash. In a bigger picture though, the problem goes back further but there is not much we can do about that now, but we can learn something from the 90’s and fix the problem.

You say: “Now, on top of that, you have ignorant Tea Party people in Congress who don’t have the intelligence or ability to be there, playing political obstructionist games attempting to bring down Obama and, as a result, bring down this country and the majority of people as well. The positions you say you support only add to this problem.” This is pure Democrat fear mongering. First, we don’t have a “tea party” political party. If you are talking about the Republicans voted in to take the place of Democrats in the 2010 election, What makes them less qualified to be in congress than any of the Democrats? Because you disagree with them?

How can you call the House GOP obstructionists when they pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling and the senate refuses to pass it on to the president, who says he would veto it anyways? Where is the Democrats bill to raise the debt ceiling? Do you see how asinine it to call the party that is producing legislation obstructionists while defending the party that does nothing but complain?

Come on Larry, think like an adult. If anything I said in this comment is wrong prove it. And just saying “because I say so” is not good enough for an adult conversation. I would love to be able to talk with you about this so I have put forth my opinion backed with factual information, can you do the same?

Quite frankly, a condescending attitude from a George Bush apologist speaks for itself. Enough will this banter of failed policies and protectionist positions of the wealthy and corporations.

Thanks to the GOP, who are unwilling to compromise on anything, and all the foolish bills they are passing with no chance of being adapted, thus providing more theater than legislation, are the ones responsible for the government looking very unlikely to be unable to pay all its bills, and will could very well mean no checks to Social Security recipients, veterans and others who depend on public help. In addition, credit rating agencies could downgrade their assessment of the government’s finances, further unnerving financial markets and perhaps causing interest rates to rise for everyone. For a party that mouths not tax increases, they are about to provide a huge wallop of, what will have the impact of a tremendous tax increase. As I said the GOP has taken this country hostage and are nothing less than economic terrorists.